You Can't Stop Time
by bughead2017
Summary: Betty Cooper left Riverdale and her friends never knew why. Now, she's back a year later with a secret and a story. Will her friends and the boy she loves forgive her or will she be alone again? One-shot. I own the OC. All other credits to CW and Riverdale creators.


You Can't Stop Time

"Hey, Pop. Two vanilla milkshakes to go, please."

They thought they'd never hear that voice again. Elizabeth Cooper's voice. Archie and Veronica slowly turned around in the booth they were sharing at their favorite diner and Jughead blinked multiple times to make sure he wasn't dreaming. He had to make sure that the girl he loves really was standing 50 feet away from him.

"Betty?" Veronica said. Betty's breath hitched in her throat and she tore her eyes away from the kitchen behind the counter and turned them to her old friends. "Here you go, Ms. Betty. Good to see you again." Pop exclaimed. Betty smiled. "Good to see you, too, Pop." She bolted for the door to try and avoid 3 certain people, but she was too late. Veronica, Archie, and Jughead were yelling her name until they reached her in the parking lot. "Betty! You can't just walk away from us!" Jughead shouted as he grabbed her arm. She sobbed, "Please! Let me go! Leave me alone!" Veronica was sobbing with her, "B, please. Just stay and we can talk." Betty spoke quietly, "I can't talk right now. I need to go." She hurriedly got into her car and drove away.

Veronica sobbed into Archie's shoulder while Jughead hit the seat of his motorcycle with his fists repeatedly. "Jug, stop. Let's go. Maybe she's staying at her mom's house." Jughead drove toward the Cooper residence with Archie and Veronica behind him in Archie's truck.

They finally arrived at the Cooper residence and Jughead bolted to the front door, but before he could knock, Alice Cooper answered the door. "Can I help you three?" Veronica answered, "Is Betty here?" Alice shifted nervously, "No, she's not." Archie mustered, "Can you tell us where she went?" Alice scoffed, "If I knew where she was I wouldn't tell you." Veronica begged, "Please, Mrs. Cooper. We just want to talk to her." Alice could see they had true intentions. She sighed, "She's upstairs." And off they went, but they weren't prepared for what they saw behind Betty's bedroom door.

They silently turned the knob and behind it, they saw something they never expected - Betty asleep on her bed with a baby on her chest. "Betty?" Jughead spoke. Betty's eyes fluttered open and grew wide. "What are you guys doing here? I told you to leave me alone." Veronica muttered, "Who's baby is that?" Betty got off her bed, shifting the baby, which made her whine. Betty shushed her back to sleep and laid her down in her crib before she answered, "She's mine." Archie looked at her, "Why didn't you tell us? Why did you run away? We're your best friends. You know we would've been there for you." Betty burst into tears, "Don't you think I wanted to tell you? You guys mean everything to me! But I couldn't put my baby girl in danger by staying here." Veronica rushed over to Betty and hugged her tight. "B, it's ok. Just tell us what happened." Betty shuddered as she recalled the night that changed her life.

"I was on my way home from _The Register,_ and I kept hearing these noises behind me, so I started walking faster, but he caught up to me and he put this cloth over my mouth and nose. Next thing I knew, he was on top of me. It hurt so much. I kept telling him to stop and to get off, but it just made him angrier. It felt like hours before he stopped. He yanked me off the bed and threw my clothes at me and told me to get lost," Betty sobbed, "He said that if I told anyone, he would hurt you. He told me to leave town and I couldn't risk you guys getting hurt. So, I packed everything I could fit in my car and I didn't know where I was going, but I just kept driving. I ended up in Scofield, Utah. I found a small house and I lived there for the next 10 months."

Betty took a breath and wiped her face, "It was 4 weeks after I moved into the house that I found out I was pregnant. I was 8 months along and I got a call from my mom saying the guy who hurt me had been arrested for assaulting a girl at a party. At that moment, I felt the weight on my chest lift. I could finally breathe, and I didn't have to look over my shoulder everywhere I went. I waited until I knew that my daughter and I would be safe if we moved back to Riverdale."

Veronica was sobbing, Archie felt like he was going to be sick, and Jughead had to hold himself back from punching the holes in the pink painted walls. "That's why I didn't tell you guys. He threatened to hurt all of you and I wasn't going to let that happen," Betty wept.

"What's his name?" Jughead growled. "Please don't, Jug." Betty pleaded. " _What is his name_?" Jughead repeated, annunciating every word. "Jug, please, he's not worth it!" Betty cried. "Dammit, Betty! Who hurt you?!" Jughead yelled. Veronica shushed Jughead, "Jughead, stop!" She turned to Betty, "B, just tell us. Who hurt you?" Betty whispered, "Nick St. Clair." Archie saw red, Jughead was frozen still, and Veronica was struggling to catch her breath.

They were all awoken from their thoughts by a shrill cry. Betty jumped up and hurried over to the crib. "It's ok, sweetheart. Mommy's here," she said as she rocked her daughter back and forth. Veronica walked over to her, "She's beautiful. What's her name?" Betty smiled proudly, "Presley Veronica Cooper."

Veronica sniffled and grinned at Betty. "Well, I am her aunt so…" Both girls laughed. Their eyes shifted over to the boys who were watching the whole exchange. "Arch, come here." Betty waved her hand at them. "I just can't believe my best friend has a baby," Archie said with sheer disbelief. "Do you want to hold her, Arch?" Betty spoke softly. He nodded nervously. Betty adjusted Presley so both her and Archie were comfortable. "Hi, Presley. I'm, uh, your uncle Archie. It's nice to meet you."

Veronica sat next to him and cooed at Presley, while Betty kept her eyes on a certain boy. Finally, his eyes locked with hers and she tried so hard to keep it together but as soon as his arms opened, she raced over to him and all she could do was cry heart-wrenching sobs. "I'm sorry I left you! I just wanted to protect you," Betty cried. Jughead rubbed her back, "Please, baby, don't cry. You did what you had to do, and I am so proud of you for being so strong."

They spent the whole evening just holding onto each other, feeling as if they let go they would disappear. Betty asked her mom to watch Presley so her and Jughead could go to Pop's and talk.

Betty fiddled with her hands as she admitted her feelings, "I'm still in love with you, Jug. I know things will never be how they were, but I, I want to be with you. Forever like how we planned," She looked up with tears in her, "Please say you love me, too."

"Elizabeth Cooper, all I want in this world is you. I love you more than I have ever found a way to say to you. I can't promise you that dark clouds will never hover over our lives or that the future will bring us many rainbows. I can promise you my everlasting devotion, my loyalty, my respect, and my unconditional love for a lifetime. I can promise that I'll always be here for you, to listen and to hold your hand, and I'll always do my best to make you happy, and to make you feel loved."

"What about Presley? She's my priority now." Betty asked. "I will love her as my own, Betty. She's a part of you." Betty sobbed, "I wish she was yours." Jughead smiles, "She is mine. Just because we're not blood, doesn't mean I won't love her like my own. You're my family which makes her my family."

They walked home together, and they fell asleep holding their daughter. No matter what, they always found their way back to each other.


End file.
